Health – Combining Mainstream and Alternative Medicine
Our readers already have an interest in natural therapies and this article is to perhaps prompt you to become more proactive in combining natural health and mainstream medicine. Often the age old herbal remedies and systems are pushed aside by those which are enmeshed in ways of thinking regarding drugs to be more effective for controlling illness.
This is not always the case and it is time that it was recognised that depending on a person’s health there are times in their life when medical drugs are essential and other times when natural therapies would perhaps do a gentler, more effective job.
Who decides which to use needs to be very much the decision of the person affected. It is important that we always have the freedom of choice to decide what to do about our health and it is heartening that many innovative mainstream doctors out there are now looking at alternative treatments of integrated care for many of the big diseases such as cancer and heart disease. It’s not just a matter of chemo or radiation therapy anymore. Many doctors are now sending their clients to natural therapists to work in conjunction with them in terms of treating their patients biologically, psychologically, spiritually and in terms of lifestyle.
Practitioners are now combining conventional treatments with alternative treatments such as yoga, nutrition, meditation, acupuncture, energy healing and herbal therapies which leads to less stress, fatigue, depression and pain for their patients.
It’s about improving quality of life and there are no quick fixes but with ongoing natural attention to your health you can make improvements all round. In recent years top medical institutions overseas such as the Cleveland Clinic, Columbia University, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Duke University Medical Centre, and the Mayo Clinic, have expanded their integrated-care programs for cancer, heart disease, and other major illnesses. Integrative medicine is becoming increasingly common overseas and it’s only a matter of time before our enlightened doctors follow suit.
In my position as a natural therapist I am already getting many doctors referring people for stress, nutritional assistance, help to give up smoking or controlling diet as well as counselling services. We no longer live in a world where one practitioner can go it alone and many enlightened therapists and doctors are not afraid to refer clients to each other so they can work together in terms of a care program for the client.
Client demand and frustration regarding illnesses has been a significant force in promoting this change in our health system which is steadily growing. More and more people are using natural therapies with success and turning to lifestyle changes rather than popping a quick pill but unfortunately some of them do not tell their doctors for fear of criticism and skepticism.
Clients everywhere are using meditation to reduce blood pressure and arterial restriction as well as lowering physiological responses to stress. They are looking at increasing their immunity naturally, lowering their cholesterol and stress and therefore needing less medication as they get older.
Experts are now even more aware that stress makes you lose sleep, overeat, avoid exercise, drink too much, and makes the heart work harder. Until 2006 the relationship between stress and cancer progression was not clear but in 2006 researchers reported in the journal of ‘Nature Medicine’ that beta-2 receptors for adrenalin (the stress hormone) acted on actual tumour cells. This made it clear that stress was a catalyst in advancing cancer. In the study the tumour grew 275% in stressed test mice compared with non-stressed mice, and metastasis was 50% higher. The study went on to speculate that stress affects cancer in humans in a similar fashion and whilst there is no ‘quick pill’ for this there are changes in lifestyle such as yoga and meditation that can help.
On the other hand for pain, fatigue, and depression there are also other therapies. A group of pancreatic cancer patients on natural therapies of green tea extract, melatonin, and high-strength vitamins reported in a 2009 study that their pain was manageable as opposed to other clients who were not receiving these natural therapies. About a third of these also said they felt less fatigue. It was also found that chemotherapy worked better when combined with integrated natural therapies.
So how can you become proactive to preserve your right of choice as to which therapies you use to maintain your health? It’s about having a voice, it’s about telling your doctor with certainty that you want to try some slippery elm rather than a prescribed drug for your reflux, or that you want some probiotics instead of a prescription for your stomach problems or that you will follow a proper diet for that thyroid problem before it gets out of hand and you need to be on medication. It’s telling him you want to go to a Reiki session or a massage for your stress rather than an antidepressant.
It is also important though to realise that your doctor is a trained specialist and if he insists you need medication they you need to ask the right questions and find out why then make your decision regarding his expert advice. We are all in this together to make a solid Health care system for Australia and if we can work together as a team it becomes a win/win situation. Everyone has their place and the real winners are us individuals who become empowered in the role we play for our health and we will live healthier, longer lives.
